Effect of water - based exercise on motor function, balance function and walking ability in patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of water-based exercise on motor function, balance function and walking ability in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).  Methods Forty patients with primary PD were randomly divided into conventional land-based rehabilitation therapy group (land-based group, N = 20) and water-based exercise group (water-based group, N = 20). Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Ⅲ (UPDRS Ⅲ) was used to evaluate the patients' motor function. Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) were used to evaluate balance function. The 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT) were used to evaluate walking ability. All the tests were carried out before and after 8-week training in 2 groups.  Results Patients in both groups had a significant decrease on UPDRS Ⅲ score (P = 0.000), TUGT (P = 0.000) after training, while they had a significant increase on BBS score (P = 0.000), 6MWT (P = 0.000) and 10MWT (P = 0.000). The water-based group had significantly lower UPDRSⅢ score (P = 0.037), shorter TUGT (P = 0.013) and higher BBS score (P = 0.018) than those in land-based group after training.  Conclusions Both conventional land-based training and water-based training had positive effect on motor function, balance function and walking ability in PD patients. The water-based training had more positive effect than land-based therapy on motor function and balance function.

DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2017.05.006